SIDEBAR: All Together Now: CMM, CRM, ERP and Six Sigma
How Six Sigma fits with process-improvement and value methodologies
CIOS who haven't yet got the Six Sigma religion might find themselves slightly irritated by devotees' talk of measurement-based decision making, increased quality, improved processes and so on.
After all, Six Sigma doesn't hold the patent on those very common corporate goals - shall we all just pitch out our existing quality, valuation and process-improvement programs?
No need, say Six Sigma boosters. While Six Sigma is clearly an alternative to broad-based quality initiatives such as Total Quality Management, proponents say it works just fine with extant project management software, CRM, Balanced Scorecard and other operational and valuation methodologies - if (and it's a big if) those methods and measures are customer-centric.
"It's important to think of Six Sigma not as a replacement for other kinds of process improvement. You're not throwing those out. You're focusing more intently on the customer and the customer's experience of working with IT," says Matt Light, a research director at Gartner.
Chase Financial Services, for example, uses Carnegie Mellon's Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to improve the predictability and quality of its software development and integration processes. That program fits in perfectly with Six Sigma, says Chase Financial Services executive vice president and CIO Charles Costa.
Another up-and-coming service-oriented quality program, the IT Infrastructure Library, which originated with the British government, covers much of the same ground as Six Sigma but in theory could still be used in tandem with Six Sigma, says Light.
Any company's existing project management and portfolio management programs should complement Six Sigma's quality and customer goals - and indeed, many PM vendors have begun including Six Sigma tools in their software offerings.
As for CRM, ERP and other three-letter, multiyear customer initiatives, Sun Microsystems is one company that's wrung significant improvements from its customer relationship management system by applying Six Sigma principles. "We have already made huge performance and process advances in our CRM system," says Junaid Mohiuddin, program manager and black belt for worldwide CRM in Sun's Global Sales Operations. "When disciplined Sigma is applied to ERP rollouts or infrastructure improvements, you increase your chances of success by many factors."
SIDEBAR: Ready, Set, Six
How to introduce Six Sigma to your employees
Six Sigma is emphatically not an out-of-the-box, off-the-shelf solution. So how can you translate it for your organisation?
External training: Many executives, such as Textron Chief Innovation Officer Ken Bohlen, tap one or two key employees, send them to Six Sigma training (usually for the black belt or at least green belt level) and then set them to work on a couple of key projects. Other executives, such as Fidelity Wide Processing President Doug Sutton, start off by hiring one or more Six Sigma black belts and let them seed the methodology throughout the organisation.
Internal training: Large companies that have made a wholesale commitment to Six Sigma, like Raytheon Aircraft, have their own internal training centres. Other companies looking for training either send their employees out to consultants or bring them in-house.
Consultants: Consultants tend to fall into one of two categories. On one end of the consultant spectrum are large corporations, such as Honeywell International, Motorola and Siemens, that embraced Six Sigma themselves and then started consulting divisions to spread the word. On the other end are boutique management consultancies that specialise in Six Sigma, including Breakthrough Management Group, George Group, Niku, Six Sigma Academy and Six Sigma Qualtec.
Project Management tools: Finally, as Six Sigma gains ground for use in IT and other disciplines, some software providers are beginning to put Six Sigma tools and metrics in their project management, service management and statistical programs, including Corel, Microsoft, Primavera Systems and Proxima Technology.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.